I am a fan of bourbon. I like to joke that I am strictly brown liquids. Coffee in the morning, bourbon in the evening, Pepsi in between. So when the opportunity to go check out The Bourbon Trail came up, I jumped on it. Why would I ever pass on the chance to go to the origin point of all my favorites? I wasn’t worried about where I was staying. Why would I be? I was planning on spending all my time in the lobby bars and on tours of every distillery in the area, of which there are over forty. However, what I found was that the place we were staying was the destination. It became not just the place I stayed, but the place I STAYED. The Trail Hotel was the kind of experience every man should have with his group. The entire time I was there, all I could think was, this is the best place in the world for a bachelor party. It has everything: bourbon, golf, food, and an honest-to-god rejuvenation room to keep you in the game next to the younger bucks.
The bourbon
The Trail Hotel knows why you showed up, of all places, in Kentucky. There is something there you can’t find anywhere else: bourbon. Not just buying it off the shelf, but diving into the history, the luxury, and the making of the amber treasure. Of course, you are among the best of the best and can hop on The Bourbon Trail each day and visit distilleries like Angel’s Envy, Old Forester, and nearly 50 more. But you don’t have to tackle this all on your own, as TTH has a Bourbon Butler. Think of this as the ultimate concierge for all things bourbon. You’re there to have fun. Not to think. Oh, and this is the perfect solution if you have a best man who is not exactly… type A.
The golf
What is a good bachelor party without golf? There is just something about getting a group of guys together and heading out to a course. Teeing off with your best friends is one of the core memories for most men. Sure, you can do that anywhere, but there is added weight to the tee box on a bachelor party. Forget the fact that the man of the hour isn’t paying and nothing is better than free golf, but there is also the idea that moving forward, he won’t be as readily available for the quick nine as he usually is. Here is the hard part though: golf is hard when it is hot. And it is harder when you are hungover from the tastings on the trail. That is why you can take the golf inside and continue the bourbon while taking swings at TTH’s golf simulator. I tried this, and I discovered I was much better with bourbon in my stomach. Or, at least, I hit a lot more fairways when I was seeing two.
The food
A man’s gotta eat, right? When I go on trips, I am rarely concerned with the food. I am just not a foodie. I am from the Midwest, which means I am equally as happy with steak and potatoes as I am with anything else. I don’t need fancy. Oak & Ember, the onsite restaurant, was the perfect culinary addition to my time there. Steaks? Definitely. Old fashioned? Of course. What else could a man want? After a long day on the course or on the trail, sitting down at a great restaurant is vital. You could also grab lunch nearby at The Old Talbott Tavern. It has one of the best burgers I have ever found in a “flyover state.”
The speakeasy
What would a Bourbon Trail trip be without a good speakeasy? I love New York City because there are seemingly speakeasies on every block. Throw a slice of plain in any direction, and you will hit a random business hiding a speakeasy beneath its exterior. Outside the city, I have a much harder time finding them. But TTH has its own speakeasy tucked behind a painting in the hallway. Before you visit the speakeasy, you have passed by it a dozen times on your way to your room without ever knowing. Once inside, there is ample seating and talented bartenders who are not there for a job; they are there for a craft. I spoke to one of them who was recruited all the way up in the Pacific Northwest and brought down specifically to work in the speakeasy. This isn’t some idea they had randomly and hired nearby talent. This was an intentional undertaking with active talent acquisition. And it shows in the cocktails.
So, if you aren’t feeling up to going outside but still want a good drink, you don’t have to leave.
The recovery
Alright, can we chat for a second? Sit down, grab your drink, and let’s talk. We aren’t as young as we used to be. When I was in the Army, I would drink from the moment I got off shift until a time dangerously close to when I was back on shift. And I rarely felt hungover. I was unbothered. I could do anything I wanted, and the next day I was like new. I was superhuman. Now, if I have a third Old Fashioned in a night, I need an MLB playoff race to recover. There is no shame. It is a part of getting older. And those traditional old-school remedies are exactly that, old. Time for an upgrade. TTH has a rejuvenation room. IV drip, cryo-chamber, sauna, oxygen bar. There is no need to rally to get yourself back in the game. Just hit the rejuvenation room, and you are back on the trail or back on the course.
Whether you are the groom, the best man, a groomsman, or just a good buddy along for the ride, there is no better place to get your guys together for a men’s week (notice I didn’t say weekend) than Kentucky, specifically at The Trail Hotel.
